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HANSARDEconomic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (Sixth sitting)If it is an example where 2,000 companies are registered at an address near Edinburgh, and somebody tries to register that address, that may well lead to a red flag. Companies…01 Nov 2022HANSARDEconomic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (Sixth sitting)Absolutely. We all agree with that. The registrar will look at that.01 Nov 2022HANSARDEconomic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (Sixth sitting)No, not at this point in time. We are striking a balance between the two. These measures have to be seen in the context of the wider provisions of the Bill on checking the…01 Nov 2022HANSARDEconomic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (Sixth sitting)I would like to finish the point. The key point is that the measure requires the people who control the company, be it the directors or persons of significant control, to make…01 Nov 2022HANSARDEconomic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (Sixth sitting)As for the period of compliance, we will let hon. Member know. There is a huge volume of records. We want Companies House to be more proactive. We do not want it to be swamped by…01 Nov 2022HANSARDEconomic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (Sixth sitting)And I do not think the right hon. Lady imagines that the registrar could go around them all. I am glad we agree on that.01 Nov 2022HANSARDEconomic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (Sixth sitting)There are 4.5 million companies in the UK—01 Nov 2022HANSARDEconomic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (Sixth sitting)Let me just finish the other critical part of the definition. An appropriate address is an address where an acknowledgement of the delivery of documents is capable of being…01 Nov 2022HANSARDEconomic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (Sixth sitting)The right hon. Lady should let me develop my argument, if she does not mind. We are all aware of the frequent problems that arise when criminals incorporate companies using an…01 Nov 2022HANSARDEconomic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (Sixth sitting)I hear clearly the comments made on both sides of the argument, but I think the provisions in the Bill do tackle the issues that Members are trying to tackle—01 Nov 2022HANSARDEconomic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (Sixth sitting)I draw the Committee’s attention to the wording of clause 28, on an “appropriate address”: “A company must ensure that its registered office is at all times at an appropriate…01 Nov 2022HANSARDEconomic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (Sixth sitting)Let me develop my point a little bit. The meaning is clearly defined in the Bill: an appropriate address is an address where it can be reasonably expected that documents sent to…01 Nov 2022HANSARDEconomic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (Sixth sitting)Permission should certainly be sought; it is just that some people do not seek permission. That is the point behind the clause. We are putting provisions in place to clamp down on…01 Nov 2022HANSARDEconomic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (Sixth sitting)I am happy to. I think we would all acknowledge that, due to various reasons beyond any of our controls, tribunals have fallen behind in the cases they are hearing. I am very…01 Nov 2022HANSARDEconomic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (Sixth sitting)As I said before, I think the Bill achieves the same objective; it might not be with the words of the hon. Gentleman’s choosing, but I think the objective is served by the…01 Nov 2022HANSARDEconomic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (Sixth sitting)I will come to that, but the hon. Gentleman’s solution to that does not give any discretion should a company need more time. [Interruption.]01 Nov 2022HANSARDEconomic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (Sixth sitting)If I may, I will come back to the hon. Gentleman on that point once I have some information on it from my officials. Clause 17 will give the Secretary of State the ability to…01 Nov 2022HANSARDEconomic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (Sixth sitting)I apologise. I will not do it again. Clause 15 makes a set of changes in how objections to a company name are to be considered by the company names adjudicator, established under…01 Nov 2022HANSARDEconomic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (Sixth sitting)We need to allow for some discretion when certain companies cannot comply because of certain consequences and for whatever reason. As a simple example, a company might have to get…01 Nov 2022HANSARDEconomic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (Sixth sitting)It is in the Bill. The point is that the company, in some circumstances, can effectively apply to have that time period extended. That is the point of this; that is where the “at…01 Nov 2022